Almost 71000 chickens have been slaughtered at a poultry farm in south-western Japan after an outbreak of bird flu.

Almost 71000 chickens have been slaughtered at a poultry farm in south-western Japan after an outbreak of bird flu.

Hundreds of local officials, including 70 soldiers, started culling the chickens at the farm in the town of Kohoku on the island of Kyushu late on February 4 after a highly virulent strain of H5 avian influenza was detected there, the Saga prefectural government said.

The outbreak prompted the Saga government to restrict the movements of poultry and eggs in areas near the farm.

In late January, 168400 poultry were culled in Miyazaki prefecture on Kyushu after an outbreak of bird flu.

Since late November, cases of the highly pathogenic H5 virus have also been found at poultry farms in Niigata, Aomori and Gifu prefectures, as well as the northern island of Hokkaido.